Lyon tie won’t be as easy as many seem to think
So now we know.
A trip to France to face Lyon in February, followed by a Camp Nou date in mid-March.
It’s not the worst tie in the world, but nor is it the best. Those supporters that are cock-a-hoop that Barcelona are only facing Lyon need to take a rain check.
Sure, it’s not Liverpool, who are a major threat to everyone left in the competition, neither is it Roma who, whilst beatable, have the slight upper hand where mind games are concerned.
Lyon are also a worthy Round of 16 opponent who must be paid appropriate respect.
Dates for the round of 16 @ChampionsLeague tie
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 17, 2018
⚽ Olympique Lyonnais FC Barcelona
19 February
OL Stadium
⚽ FC Barcelona Olympique Lyonnais
13 March
Camp Nou
Any team that are able to beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and then hold them again, deserve a bit more than cursory acknowledgment.
In Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembele, they have three front men who can cause Barca’s back line all sorts of problems, because if there’s one type of player that we currently struggle to deal with, it’s an attacker with pace, power or trickery.
Lyon have that in abundance, and let’s be honest, both Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti aren’t the quickest.
Bruno Genesio likes his side to play an expansive 3-4-3, and that gives the French team both width and midfield control when one of the two wide men drop back to make a five.
Lyon isn’t Liverpool, but Bruno Genésio has proven to be a major headache to Pep Guardiola in the group stages and he’ll set up his team for a win vs Barcelona, rather than playing not to lose as some would naively expect.
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) December 17, 2018
In the last 19 games in all competitions, Lyon have lost just two, and are only three points off second place in Ligue 1, with a game in hand over Lille.
They’ve only managed to keep clean sheets in four of those matches, mind, an Achilles heel that Barcelona can identify with.
In many respects these two games could hinge on which defence copes best with their rival’s attack.
Barca’s weakness has been exposed time and again this season, but with three clean sheets in the last five matches, maybe the tide is beginning to turn.
Certainly, if the Blaugranes do retain genuine aspirations of success in the competition, the one area they need to work on is defence. And not just centrally either.
Whether it’s Nelson Semedo or Sergi Roberto, and Jordi Alba on the opposite flank, the full-backs need to stop the supply line.
Umtiti/Lenglet and Pique haven’t always been at their brilliant best in 2018/19, but neither should they be expected to be firefighters. If crosses are cut off at source, it will force Lyon to come through the middle and aside from the centre-backs, a Busquets/Rakitic pairing is more than capable of offering protection where needed in that regard.
In summary, it’s an exciting tie and one in which Barcelona will go into as heavy favourites.
0/6 - Lyon have won none of their 6 Champions League games against Barcelona (D2 L4), conceding 16 goals and scoring only 7. Mountain. pic.twitter.com/Cx6d7JJkw3
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 17, 2018
However, they’ll need to ensure they don’t allow complacency to creep into their thoughts as they look towards the quarter-finals and thoughts of a Madrid date later in the year.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts https://ift.tt/2EzMSOY
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق